Dark Side
by ICantBelieveImNotButter
Summary: 5th in 'Coloured Lights' series - Somethings going on with Sam that could risk the lives of Dean's daughter and his girlfriend. CHECK OUT THE POLL ON MY PROFILE PAGE
1. Six Month Mark

**DARK SIDE**

**Author -** ICantBelieveImNotButter  
**Category -** Series  
**Rating -** MA15+  
****WARNING** -** This fic contains strong adult themes that may offend some readers  
**Setting -** AU reality, roughly based on the season 2 episode 'Born Under A Bad Sign'  
**Characters/Pairings - **Sam, Dean, John, Bobby, 2 OFC, Dean/OFC  
**Spoilers -** None  
**Summary - **Something is going on with Sam that could risk the lives of Dean's daughter and girlfriend.  
**Notes - **Set 6 months after 'Four Men And A Baby'  
**Disclaimer -** All things relating to the Supernatural series is the property of Eric Kripke. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE - SIX MONTHS**

Sam Winchester sat in the kitchen of Bobby Singer's house.

It was early in the morning, around 8:30am, so Sam was just finishing his breakfast of toast and eggs. As he ate, he couldn't help but the grin that was plastered across his face. Beside him was his almost six month's old niece in her high chair. For the past five minutes, she had been staring at him, following his every move with great interest. Her entire attention focused on him so of course he was finding it hard not to feel a little proud.

Mary was in the middle of having her own breakfast by her mother, who was sitting on the other side of the table. It was more like Pepper was 'trying' to feed her daughter but it was difficult since all the child wanted to do was watch her Uncle.

"Alright." Pepper said suddenly. "That's it." She stood up and moved behind the high chair to the other side of the table, yet this didn't seem to faze Mary who remained fixated on Sam.

"You can feed her, Sammy." Slightly annoyed, Pepper held a small plastic spoon and jar of baby food out to Sam.

Sam slowly took his eyes off the baby to look at her mother and tried to look confused, though it didn't work. He knew he was distracting Mary and Pepper knew that he knew.

Pepper shook her head, "There's no way I'm going to be able to feed her if I have to keep fighting for her attention."

"Sorry."

Sam took the offered food and spoon. He offered Pepper a sheepish smile.

Pepper let out a deep breath, relaxing before a small smile graced her lips. "It's fine, Sammy." She turned back to Mary and stroked the little girl's curly sandy blonde hair. "Mommy should have known that you'd rather play with Uncle Sammy that to help Mommy by having your breakfast." She cooed to her daughter.

Mary gurgled happily in response and clapped her hands against the tray on the high chair. Sam stood up and moved to the seat Pepper had just been. Mary turned her head to watch him as he walked behind her.

"You love your Uncle Sammy, don't you darling." Pepper stated with a laugh before kissing the top of her daughter's head.

"Ba!" Mary happily gurgled.

Sam grinned widely. He adored Mary so much, and he loved that she loved him back. For a while, he had been scared that he wouldn't be able to connect with her, after all, he'd never been around many babies in his life but luckily, he found it pretty easy. It was great that Mary always seemed excited to see him. Not as excited as she got when she saw her father, but close.

Pepper walked over to the sink and started sorting out the small pile of dishes there just as Sam scooped some baby food onto the spoon. He held it out before Mary and she quickly opened her mouth for it. She did this each time Sam brought the spoon towards her.

Sam couldn't believe how quickly Mary had grown and developed over the last six months. She could now say 'Dada' and 'Mama', as well as 'Nana' and then of course she could say a few sounds such as 'Bah', 'Gah', 'Oh'. Mary had also started crawling recently and had gotten pretty fast at it. You really cannot take your eye off her for a second because she does have a habit of taking off and getting into things that she shouldn't, and there was no stopping her if she saw something that she wanted, as she was such a curious little girl. When she was only three months old though, Dean had ensured that the entire house had been baby-proofed.

Sam had spent the majority of his time over the last six months simply being at home so he could spend time with Mary. In truth, it had taken some getting used to and Sam sometimes missed traveling around but it felt nice to finally have a home. He and Dean had been on a few hunts as had Bobby and their father. Mostly they were seeing to things that had come out of the Devil's gate. They always tried to stay away for no longer than a week because none of them wanted to be too far away from baby Mary, and one of them always had to remain at the house with Pepper and Mary. Whenever Dean was away from the house he would call Pepper every morning and every night to see how Mary was.

Sam knew that sooner or later he would have to decide that he wanted to do with his life. He didn't have a problem with the way things were going now; he just wanted more for his life than hunting and helping his brother look after his family. Of course, Sam loved being able to help with Mary, but seeing Dean with a family made Sam wonder what it would be like to have his own family some day.

Soon Mary had finished the last spoonful and Sam was using a damp cloth to wipe her face and fingers after he had given her the spoon to play with, which she did happily. Pepper grabbed the empty jar and threw it in the bin. Once Sam had finished cleaning Mary, he quickly cleaned the table before tossing the cloth in the sink.

"There we go, Mary. All done." Sam smiled at his niece.

Mary lifted her arms out to him with one hand still holding the plastic spoon.

"You want a cuddle, hey Mary?"

The baby bounced in her seat and Sam stood up and picked her up before holding her on his left hip. Mary clapped her small hands together happily. She dropped the spoon to the floor, no longer needing it now that she had her uncle Sammy to play with.

"So, what are you up to today Miss Mary?" Sam asked, faking his most adult voice.

"Bah!" Mary bubbled happily.

"We're going shopping for new clothes." Pepper replied, leaning her back against the sink.

"New clothes for Mary or new clothes for Mommy?" Sam asked

Pepper smirked, shrugged slightly and said, "Well, clothes for Mary since she's grown out of most of hers. But, if I happen to see something I like..." She trailed off.

Sam laughed, his head thrown back. When he sobered, he took a moment to watch Mary.

"I can't believe how quickly she's grown."

"I know." Pepper nodded.

"Oooh." Mary cooed with fascination.

She reached out with her small hand and stuck her fingers into Sam's mouth while he laughed once more. This made Sam stop to spit her fingers out. He didn't want to risk accidentally biting her. Mary didn't care because she just kept sticking her fingers back into his mouth whenever she could.

"So," Sam began, spitting out Mary's fingers again. "Is Dean going shopping with you?"

"I don't think so." Pepper shook her head slightly. "He didn't mention that he was coming. Granddads' coming though."

"Mind if I tag alo--" Sam stopped as Mary grabbed his bottom lip, digging her small fingernails into his mouth. "Aah."

Pepper ran towards them. "Let go of Uncle Sammy's mouth, sweetheart."

Sam lifted one hand up and carefully pried Mary's fingers from his lip. Mary seemed to think it was all a huge game and had no idea that she could hurt her Uncle. Sam bounced her slightly, hoping to distract her from his lips. Mary laughed and clapped her hands together a few times and then she waved them in front of Sam's face. One arm met Sam's left eye.

"Ow," Sam mumbled softly since he didn't want to startle her.

"Oh Mary." Pepper sighed. "That wasn't very nice."

Mary looked over at her mother then bounce happily again, oblivious to what had just happened.

"You should really cut her nails." Sam muttered.

"I am sorry Sammy."

Pepper reached out her arms towards Mary, in hopes of saving Sam from any more torment.

Mary turned back to Sam and grabbed onto his shirt. Then she turned her head to the side before placing it against Sam's shoulder. Sam grinned broadly. She was hugging him. He was being hugged by his baby niece.

"Aww!" Pepper gushed.

Sam leaned his cheek against the top of her head and hugged her tightly. Pepper quickly dashed out of the room and came back half a minute later with her camera. She took several pictures of the scene in front of her, and only stopped when Mary lifted her head back up.

"I love you, Mary." Sam told her before he kissed her forehead.

Pepper smiled, "You know that she has you wrapped around her little finger, right?"

"I know." Sam smiled. "And I don't care."

Pepper laughed slightly. "Then I think Mary would love it if you ca--"

Pepper stopped suddenly, being interrupted by a loud scrapping noise coming from upstairs. Together, Pepper and Sam looked towards the kitchen door with frowns on their faces. They slowly turned back to each other in confusion.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

Pepper shook her head, "I have no idea."

"Is Bobby doing anything upstairs?"

"No. No, Granddad is outside working. John's out on a hunt, so the only one upstairs is Dean."

"What is he doing?" Sam asked as they heard more noises.

"I have no idea..." She mumbled. "But I'm going to find out."

With that, Pepper placed her camera down on the table and headed out of the kitchen. Sam waited a moment, wondering if he should follow or not, but curiosity took over and he soon followed the path that Pepper had just taken.

* * *

It didn't take Pepper and Sam long to figure out that the noise was coming from the nursery. Together they slowly approached, not really knowing what to expect and were surprised to see Dean dragging Mary's crib across the floor and towards the door.

"Ah, Dean?" Sam began slowly. "What are you doing?"

Dean jumped slightly in response. He had been so caught up in what he was doing that he had not noticed anyone come in the room. He turned around to face his brother and girlfriend.

"Mary's gonna sleep in our room for a few nights." Dean replied, as thought it should have been obvious, then he turned back to finish what he was doing.

Sam frowned and shared a worried look with Pepper.

"Um...Why?"

Dean stopped and let out a low sigh but didn't turn around.

Mary, who had seen her father, started bouncing excitedly in Sam's arms. Her face lit up and she started squirming trying to get away from her uncle so she could reach her father.

"Dada!" The little girl yelled happily. "Dada! Dada!"

Pepper turned to Mary and smiled softly.

"Sammy, can you take Mary downstairs for a moment?" Pepper gently asked. "While I talk to Dean for a bit."

"Ah..." Sam looked from Dean to Pepper and then slowly nodded. "Yeah, sure."

He turned around and Mary leaned over his shoulder, still watching her father.

"Dada, Dada, Dada." She said repeatedly in frustration. She wanted her Daddy and she could not understand why he wasn't going to her. He normally did.

Dean finally turned around at the sound of his daughter's voice. He took in her bright eyes and smiled softly. He began moving towards Sam, causing Mary to lift her arms out and wave them towards Dean. As Dean got closer, Sam turned around towards him just as Mary decided she wasn't going to wait and tried to lean out of Sam's arms. Thankfully, Dean caught her before she leaned to far forward.

"Dada!" Mary happily announced once safe and secure in Dean's arms.

She bounced against his chest and kicked her legs.

"Hi, Mary." Dean softly murmured before he kissed her forehead.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me." said Sam.

Pepper nodded, "Thanks Sammy."

She watched as Sam walked out of the room while Dean carried Mary back over to her crib.

A part of Dean hoped that she wouldn't want to have the conversation he knew was coming while he was holding their daughter, but he knew better.

"Dean, what's going on?" Pepper carefully asked.

"Nothing." Dean shook her head.

"You're moving our daughter's crib into our bedroom for a few nights." She pointed out. "Don't tell me that nothing is going on. You've been acting... I don't know, strangely these past few days."

"No I haven't." He replied stubbornly.

Pepper sighed, "Dean, I'm not dumb. I can see what's going on." She paused while looking at Mary, who was babbling incoherently in Dean's arms. "Is this because...are you doing this because of how old Mary is?"

Dean didn't say anything and instead looked down into his daughter's bright green eyes. She grinned and raised a hand up to his mouth. Dean kissed her tiny fingers, in an attempt to prolong answering Pepper's question.

Pepper folded her arms gently over her stomach, her face softening as she watched her boyfriend and daughter.

"Dean..." She began on a sigh.

"...You're gonna tell me that I'm being paranoid." He stated, just loud enough for her to hear. His eyes never leaving Mary.

"She's fine."

"I know that." He replied hastily. "But I..." He paused and finally looked over at Pepper. "I can't get the night Mom died out of my head. I keep seeing Mom and Sam, and then they turn into you and Mary..." He shook his head and turned his eyes back to his baby girl. "I can't take that chance..."

He trailed off and gently kissed Mary's forehead.

"Dean..." Pepper slowly walked towards him. "Dean, I get that you're scared but... believe me, we are safe. The Yellow Eyed demon is dead. He isn't coming back."

"Doesn't mean that something else wont try--"

"--Even if there were some other demons out there that tried to get to us, it wouldn't be like it was for you." Pepper tried to reassure him. "Mary and I have so many people protecting us. So many things on our side, there's no way any Demon could get into this house."

Dean looked at her for a moment then shifted his eyes away. He knew that she was right. He knew that between himself, Sam, his father and Bobby they had the place well protected but that didn't stop him from worrying or from wanting to protect them at any cost.

Silence stretched between them for nearly two minutes. The only sound that could be heard was coming from Mary as she giggled and cooed at her father. Dean looked over at Mary. She was so innocent and he prated that she never understood the fear that he was feeling in this moment.

"You have to let me do this, Pepper."

"Alright." She slowly agreed. "Mary can stay in our room, just for a few days."

Dean nods just once and shifts Mary in his arms.

"Dada!" Mary cried out happily and bounced, kicking her legs.

Smiling gently at the happy baby, Pepper said, "You'll be able to finish here while Mary and I are out shopping."

He quickly turned to her. "Are you-"

"-Sammy and Granddad are going with us." She assured him quickly.

She knew that with the way he was feeling now, there was no way that they would be left alone.

"Why don't you take a break for a while? You can get Mary ready." She suggested.

Again, Dean nodded.

Pepper took a step closer, leaned over their daughter, and kissed him lightly.

"Things will be okay." She whispered as she pulled back.

Dean watched as she walked out the door. He really was lucky that she was so understanding with him.

"Da! Oooh." Mary giggled.

Dean smiled at her. Suddenly feeling better than he had been. She always could make him feel better no matter what his mood.

"Let's get you ready for Mommy."

"Mama!"

Dean chuckled softly and kissed her temple.

* * *

Pepper walked into the kitchen where Sam was sitting at the table waiting for her. Bobby was busying himself by making himself a coffee. He turned around, mug in hand and smiled at Pepper.

"And where's my beautiful great granddaughter?"

"Dean's getting her ready upstairs."

"Did you talk to him?" Sam asked.

Pepper nodded, sighed and sat down.

"And everything's okay?"

Bobby looked from Pepper to Sam and realized he was missing something.

"What's going on?" He asked as he stepped closer to the table.

"Dean's feeling a little...over protective at the moment." Pepper replied.

"Did you find out why?"

"Yeah, Sammy." She sighed. "It's because Mary's nearly six months old. And after what happened to your mother when you were six months, well..."

"But Yellow Eyes is dead." Sam said, a little confused.

"I don't think that has anything to do with it Sam." said Bobby.

"Well yeah, but, I mean it's not like any of us don't know what to do if a demon does attack the house."

"Do you really think that matters to Dean?" Bobby asked, "We could have the force of the US army and it still wouldn't matter."

Sam thought for a moment, adverting his eyes from Bobby's. He knew that Bobby was right and he knew that this would not be the last time that this would happen.

"So what do we do?" Sam asked after a long pause.

"We'll just have to be patient until Dean feels comfortable again." said Bobby

"I wish he didn't feel like this at all." Pepper said sadly, her head hanging low.

Bobby walked over to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I know it's annoying, but you would have had to have known that he would be like this--"

"--It's not annoying Granddad, it's frustrating." She replied, turning her head to look up at him. "I don't like that Dean feels this way and there's nothing I can do to help him."

"Pepper..." Sam began

She turned her head to Sam. "I know it'll pass Sammy...but..."

Bobby squeezed her shoulder and bent down to kiss the top of her head.

"Just give it time." He said.

Pepper sighed and nodded.

"Do you think we should call dad?" Sam asked.

"And tell him what? That your brother is a little extra over protective because of how your mother died?" Bobby asked pointedly as he took a seat beside Pepper.

Sam shrugged slightly, "I don't know. Maybe he could talk to Dean."

"I don't think it will help, Sammy."

"John's too busy with his hunt anyway." replied Bobby.

"How is he going with that?" Pepper asked with a slight nod.

"As far as I can tell it's just a standard hunt." Bobby replied. "Should be over soon. Why don't we just focus on taking that beautiful little girl shopping?"

"Yeah." Sam said and Pepper nodded.

* * *

Back in the nursery, Dean was sitting on the floor with Mary after having changed her into a fresh diaper, purple overall dress with a long white sleeve shirt underneath. He had also put white socks on her feet encase she got cold. She had shoes but Dean didn't see the point in putting them on if she wasn't going to stand up while she was out.

He watched as she crawled away from him as quickly as she could to the corner where her M&M doll lay. Dean remembered the day he had bought it for her and smiled slightly. He'd known then that she would have loved it and he was right. She had many other toys (many, many others) but her yellow M&M doll was by far her favorite. If she was upset and Dean or Pepper weren't there to calm her, Sam and the others would always go and get the toy to sooth her. It usually worked too.

"Ba da ba." Mary babbled happily, apparently having a conversation with her toy. "Gah. Ba ba."

Dean rested his head against the wall he was leaning against with a soft sigh. At least his fear wasn't being transferred to her. He would do anything to protect her from that. He was glad that she was always so happy and that she had so many people looking after her, loving her. She pretty much had the perfect life and yet he felt guilty. Guilty because of the world he was apart of. Every day he feared that his world of hunting would somehow collide with this world and he hated it. He knew that being a parent would be hard, even for normal parents, but he had no idea that it would be this hard.

Mary giggled, bringing Dean's full attention back to her. He looked over at her and coudn't help but let out a deep laugh. There she was sitting on the ground, holding her M&M doll in her arms while she chewed on its tag. She was getting to the stage where everything went in her mouth. Mary brought her eyes up to meet his, still chewing on the tag.

"Come here, baby." Dean said, still laughing.

He held his arms out towards her. Mary immediately dropped the doll, no longer fascinated by it, and crawled as fast as she could towards her father. Once she was within reach, dean scooped her up into his arms.

"Daddy loves you."

"Dada." Mary giggled.

Dean smiled. He lifted her up above his head. She laughed loudly and kicked her legs. Then he brought her to eye-level and kissed her nose. She continued to laugh, making his heart swell. After a minute or two, Dean carefully stood up with Mary safely in his arms.

"Let's go, Mary." He told her. "Daddy's still got some work to do and I think Mommy's ready to leave now."

Bending down slightly, Dean pressed a gentle kiss against his daughter's cheek before carrying her out of the nursery. Hopefully by the time Pepper came back he would have everything set up. As he headed towards the stairs, Dean rested his chin against the top of Mary's head.

"Thank god you only turn six months old once." He murmured.

**TBC**

**Next Chapter - John's Hunt**

**Author's Notes - **_For those who are interested in my upcoming videos based on this series, I have finally chosen who Pepper is going to be. Recently I heard the song 'Halo' by Bethany Joy Galeotti. I saw a picture of her and thought she would be perfect. Now I have never seen One Tree Hill before this (though I am getting into it now) so I didn't know that she isn't always a blonde. However at this point I don't really mind. Meaning that even though I have stated that Pepper is blonde, she may not always be in the videos._

_Also if anyone has any song suggestions please let me know. And go to my profile to take my poll on what you'd like to see more of in my stories. Please check out my youtube account - ShadedAlpha to see a quick cast vid of 'How Life Should Be'._


	2. John's Hunt

**Author's Notes -** _Hello guys. I know the new chapter is finally here. I'm really sorry about the long (very long) wait. Sadly this is going to happen a lot. Not only in my life a little hetic but so is my Beta's. Once again I am sorry everyone but I hope that you will continue to read. Anyway here is chapter two. As always please let me know what you think. Thanks everyone :)_

**CHAPTER TWO - JOHN'S HUNT**

It was a mess. That was the only term John could use to describe the scene in front of him. He was standing in the middle of room 103 of the Graynord hotel looking at what was once a man, now nothing more than torn remains. Someone (more like something) had broken in and ripped the man apart. There was blood sprayed across each wall, some spots smeared others splattered. Clearly, the body had been tossed around before it finally hit the floor. Most of the man's internal organs were spilling out of his body.

If John wasn't used to such horrible things this might have made him throw up. If this was not tragic enough, the man was not just some poor accountant. No, he was a hunter. Was a hunter. Joel Roberts had been in the hunting game for most of his life. Though John didn't know what had made him get into it, all he did know was that he was reliable even though he tended to work alone. And he didn't deserve this. No one deserved this.

John sighed and shook his head as he turned and left the room. He walked out into the hall and firmly closed the door to room 103. He checked to make sure that there was not anyone else in the hall that could see him. The last thing he needed was for someone to spot him near the room before they discovered what was inside, and then call the cops on him. It wasn't as if John had the time to clean up. He could only hope that when Joel was found he was treated with respect.

John left the hotel as quickly as he could and without notice, to his truck which was parked out behind the building. With one hand, he grabbed his car keys and rubbed his face briefly with the other. Joel was the fourth Hunter that John had found, completely gutted. The only indication that John had that they had all been killed by the same thing was the manner in which they died. Each one of them had brutally in their homes.

This was beginning to get harder and harder as the hours went on. John didn't have much to go on except that the same thing had killed all four Hunters. Other than that, he was clueless. He didn't know if the four of them knew each other, or if they were all simultaneously working on the same hunt together. He needed more to go on. The only thing he could think of was to call Bobby. For some reason Bobby seemed to know most of the Hunters that were out there. Maybe one of them called him for help or advice. It was a long shot but it was the only thing he could think of to do.

He picked up his cell and dialed the house phone.

* * *

Dean was in the kitchen drinking his third cup of coffee. He had just finished re-salting the window in his bedroom after having moved his daughter's crib in.

When the phone rang, Dean picked it up before the first ring was over.

"Hello?" He asked

"Dean?" came John's voice. "It's me."

"Ah, hey dad."

Dean let himself relax a little. On the one hand, he was hoping that Pepper was calling, and on the other, he was glad that she didn't because if she called then something might have been wrong.

"How's it going?" Dean asked referring to his father's latest hunt.

With everything he was doing to protect Mary and Pepper, Dean had almost forgotten about his father's hunt. He rather hoped that his father was calling him to let him know that he was finished and was on his way back. It was easier not to worry about the ones you care about when they are close by.

John could tell that his son's heart wasn't really into hearing about his hunt. And John could guess what was really on his son's mind. He had known that this time was going to be hard on Dean. In truth it was a hard time for John as well. This is why he had decided to follow this hunt in the first place.

"Things are fine." John lied. "Is Bobby there?"

"Bobby? No, no he's out with Sam and Pep." Dean explained in one breath. "Why are you looking for Bobby?"

John sighed. So much for not burdening his son with this. "I need to borrow that address book he has."

"The one with all the hunters in it?"

"Yeah."

"Hold on. I'll go look for it."

Dean put the phone down on the kitchen table and headed to the study, where Bobby had moved most of his books too. Before Mary had been born, all the books had been scattered around the entire house.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Dean came back into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Can't find it." He told his father. "I think Bobby's moved it."

John nodded even though Dean could not see him.

"I could call Pepper. See if she knows where it is." Dean suggested when there was no response from his father. "Or we could call Bobby--"

"--No its ok. Don't worry about it Dean." John paused for a moment before adding, "I'll come back and look for it myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll see you soon."

"Alright. I'll have another look for the book."

Dean said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone.

He headed back out to Bobby's study. He wanted to spend at least another twenty minutes looking for the address book, and then he wanted to finish adding protection to the house. Helping his father out was fine but Dean's first priority was Mary's safety.

* * *

John closed his cell phone and tossed it onto the seat beside him. As he started the engine, he briefly hoped that Dean didn't worry about this too much. John knew that Dean's thoughts and concerns would be mostly focused on Mary and he wanted it to stay that way.

He also hoped that Bobby and the others would be back soon. He really wanted to talk to Bobby and get his opinion on this hunt. Plus going back to the house would give him the chance of seeing Mary.

* * *

When John walked into the house he found Dean dragging the rug back in the living room back in to place. John was about to ask why the rug had been moved, but when he looked down he saw the reason. Dean had drawn a devil's trap on the floor. It was probably one of many now scattered around the house.

"Need some help?" John asked in a way of announcing his presence.

Dean looked up and shrugged briefly. "Yeah. Thanks."

John moved and grabbed the other end of the rug. Together they moved it to where it belonged.

"Other's back yet?" John asked as he watched Dean straighten the rug back out.

Dean shook his head before straightening up.

"I couldn't find Bobby's book either. But I didn't check his room so it's probably there."

John nodded and turned towards the stairs. If this had been any other time, John may have said something to Dean about not concentrating more on this hunt, but this wasn't any other time and Mary's safety was of course more important. At least to Dean.

* * *

When the phone rang the second time, Dean took even less time to answer than before.

"Hello?"

"Dean, it's me." Pepper replied. "I just wanted to let you know that we'll be back soon."

Dean let a small smile of relief grace his lips. He was just glad that they would all be coming home where he could keep an eye on them. Not that he didn't trust Bobby and Sam to protect his family; it just wasn't the same as them being here with him.

"Good. How's Mary?" He asked

"She's fine. She's got her Uncle and Great-Grandfather fawning over her." Pepper paused after that and then slowly asked, "How, um, how's everything?"

Dean closed his eyes. He knew that she wanted to ask more than that.

"Ok." He answered simply.

He heard Pepper sigh.

"I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Yeah." Dean nodded before hanging up.

* * *

John had finally found Bobby's address book. It was lying on the small desk in the older man's room. He must have been reading it, or adding to it, as it would normally be in the study. John grabbed the book and left the room quickly. He didn't want to spend too long prying in Bobby's room, as he was sure that Bobby wouldn't spend much time in his. Really none of them ventured in to anyone else's room for anything, well except the nursery. They all spent a great deal of time in there.

He took the book into the study to give Dean some space. He was sure that Dean still had plenty on things that he wanted to do and he wanted to be out of his way.

"Hey Dad!"

"In here, Dean."

John looked up just as Dean walked through the doorway.

"Um, Pep and the others are on their way back." Dean said. "Thought you'd wanna know."

John nodded. "Thanks son."

Dean turned around and left the room again. John sat down at the small desk and laid the address book out in front of him. Then he opened up the second desk draw and pulled out some scrap paper to take notes, writing down the names of the hunters who had been killed.

* * *

When Dean heard, Sam and the others pull up to the front of the house he nearly ran to the door to see if they were ok. He really hopes that this feeling won't last. This was getting ridiculous and he hated it.

Bobby walked in first carrying four large shopping bags in one hand while he held the door open with the other hand for Pepper and Sam. Pepper had the diaper bag over her shoulder and two more shopping bags in her hand. She wasn't holding Mary and Dean held his breath for a split moment until Sam walked in carrying the happy baby. Ok, so, Dean knew that Sam was with them but his mind decided to wonder to a bad place even though it was irrational.

Mary was cooing in Sam's ear as he bounced her slightly in his arms.

"Hi." Dean said to them, as they joined him in the living room.

Mary stopped talking to her uncle and turned her head in the direction of her father's voice. When she spotted him sitting on the sofa she immediately held her arms out to him.

"Dada, dada." She called out happily.

Sam carefully placed the small child on the floor and as soon as he let go she speed-crawled straight towards Dean's legs. With a grin, Dean bent down and scooped Mary up off the floor.

"Dada!" Mary giggled.

"Hey baby." Dean kissed the top of Mary's head and hugged her closely; glad to have her back in his arms. "Did you have a good time?"

"She had a great time." Pepper replied.

Dean turned to her and finally noticed the six shopping bags they had brought in. He gave her a small smile. At least their day had been somewhat fun, though he'd bet anything that Pepper had been worried about him all day.

"They all filled with clothes?"

Dean asked while he placed Mary on one leg, facing the others. One hand supporting her back while the other gently brushed the curls on her head.

"Nothing but." Pepper told him.

She sat down on the sofa beside him and tickled Mary's nose briefly making the little girl laugh and squirm happily in her father's lap.

"And you got six bags full?"

"No," Pepper shook her head. "I bought two of the bags. Sammy and Granddad got the rest."

Dean looked at both men with a brow raised in question. Sam simply shrugged while Bobby shook his head and placed the bags he had been holding on the vacant armchair.

"Don't look at me like that." said Bobby in a firm voice. "She's my great-granddaughter and I'll buy her whatever I want."

"Wasn't gonna say you couldn't Bobby."

"Good." Bobby nodded. "Now did I see ya father's truck outside? He finished his hunt?"

Dean shook his head and tensed up ever so slightly.

"I don't think so, but he's in the study."

Bobby nodded once and headed towards the study. He knew that it was better not to ask Dean any more questions but to let Dean enjoy being with his daughter. For the moment, as far as he knew, they wouldn't need Dean for this hunt anyway.

"Do you know if Dad needs help?" Sam asked.

"I don't know."

"Didn't you ask?"

"I, ah, had other things on my mind."

"Oh. Yeah, I-"

"-Dean, do you wanna see the new outfits we got for your daughter?" Pepper asked quickly.

She wanted to get Dean's mind off such stressful thoughts and figured that parading a bunch of baby clothes in front of him was the best way to do so.

Dean turned to her, grateful for her way of thinking, and nodded.

* * *

John was hunched over the desk in the study in deep concentration when Bobby walked in. Bobby took a moment to gage the other man's expression and saw how worried he was.

"I take it your hunt isn't over, Winchester." Bobby stated as he stepped towards the desk.

John nodded his head slightly but didn't look up. On closer inspection, Bobby saw that John was looking through his address book filled with the contact information of all the Hunters he knew, as well as a blank notebook that John was using to write down various names and addresses. A few of the names John had written down also had lines through them, giving Bobby a bad feeling in his gut.

"What's going on?" He asked, now looking over John's shoulder.

John was silent for half a moment while he finished writing another name down.

"Hunter's are being killed."

"Comes with the job." Bobby said with a slow nod.

"This is different." John shook his head. "Whatever's doing this its-its not just killing them. It's like its playing with them. You should have seen what was left."

"It wouldn't be the first time we've come up against something vicious."

"No. But there's something else about this that I can't figure out." John replied. "Its at the back of my skull, I just can't get it out."

Bobby was silent for a minute before asking, "Who's been killed?"

John pushed the notebook to the side so Bobby could read it while he continued looking through the address book.

Bobby's jaw set as he read the names: Joel Roberts, Dom Freedman, Chris Holts and RJ Barrowman. Bobby had known each man though he didn't really know them that well. Still it was horrible that they had died and in such a horrible way.

John sighed heavily again in frustration.

"Any idea who might be next?"

"None." John replied. "At first I thought it was all about geographical convenience but the last two were in different directions throwing that idea out the window."

Bobby read over the names on the list once again.

"We should make some calls," He suggested. "Warn as many Hunters as we can. At least that way they'll be prepared and we might be able to stop anyone else from dying."

"Yeah," John nodded in agreement. "Guess you're right."

John took his cell out of his pocket and pushed the address book in the middle of the desk so Bobby could read the numbers as well. Bobby too grabbed his cell out and each of them began quickly punching in their first numbers. Bobby was just about to enter the last number when a thought suddenly struck him.

"Could it have followed you?" Bobby asked quickly.

John looked up at him, slightly startled by the sudden question.

"What?'

"The demon, or whatever this thing is - could it have followed you back here?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Cause if you've brought that thing anywhere near this house--"

"--Do you really think I would do that?" John asked, his voice rose slightly in anger. "I took every precaution so that wouldn't happen. If I thought for a moment that there was some way this thing could have followed me I wouldn't have come back. Look I know that you sometimes disagree with my methods, but I would never put my granddaughter's life in jeopardy."

Bobby stared at him, reading his expression to gage how serious he was.

"Alright." Bobby nodded. "Just wanted to hear you say it. But I think we should do something to ad more protection to the house."

"Believe me I think Dean's got that covered."

**TBC**

**Next Chapter - Sam's Accident.**


	3. Sam's Accident

**CHAPTER THREE - SAM'S ACCIDENT**

John and Bobby continued their task of calling other Hunter's to warn them about the very real threat that may be heading towards them. There was always the same questions asked with each call: 'Who died? How? When? And what could they do to help?' Some of the Hunter's that they had called were getting on in years which meant that they couldn't really do much in the way of helping but most of them offered to keep an eye out encase something came their way.

John was just about to look for the next number on the list, but stopped to listen to Bobby's current conversation.

"...No Paul I didn't see them myself..." Bobby began into his cell.

John had never met Paul but he knew that he was a younger man. A few years older than Dean but with less experience.

"Yeah...Well no, I don't think that will make much difference...Alright, just keep an eye out and...Right, yeah." Bobby sighed and nodded, even though Paul couldn't see. "I'll call you when we know more. Right, bye."

Bobby lowered his cell and ended the call. As he looked up, he finally noticed John watching him.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Paul is apparently out of the country. He didn't think the Demon could get to him if he wasn't in the states."

"Oh"

"Yeah." Bobby nodded "Well he's a good kid, just a little dense sometimes. Who's next?"

John smiled slightly at Bobby's comment and pointed to the next two names on the list. This Paul could obviously be a bit of an idiot but was still somewhat of a good Hunter.

Both Bobby and John got to work calling more Hunters.

* * *

In the living room, Dean was sitting on the floor with Mary who was throwing her new clothes around as she played with them. Pepper and Sam sat on the sofa watching the little girl. Mary babbled and laughed making everyone in the room smile.

Pepper looked up and out of the nearest window and was surprised to see that the sun had almost completely disappeared outside. She hadn't realized that it was so late and she doubted that Sam or Dean had either.

"I think I should get a start on dinner" She announced as she got to her feet.

Dean turned his attention from Mary to her and frowned ever so slightly.

"We could just order something." He said with a half shrug.

"No it's alright." Pepper offered him a smile.

She walked over to Mary and bent down to briefly kiss the top of her head. Dean watched her and opened his mouth as she stood up to argue when Sam sat up straight and came up with a suggestion.

"I can make dinner if you want."

Dean and Pepper both turned to him at the same time. Neither of had expected him to say that. It had always been Pepper or Bobby who made the meals, because they were the only ones who were any good at making something good enough for everyone to eat. Sam and the others often offered to help with the cooking but they rarely offered to cook themselves.

"Since when do you know how to cook anything?" Dean asked

"There are things you don't know about me." Sam replied. "I'm sure I can come up with something."

"Are you sure, Sammy?" asked Pepper.

Sam gave her a smile and nodded. "Sure. I mean, it's about time I made at least one meal right?"

"Well then, thanks." Pepper smiled. "That'd be really great. Just call me if you need anything."

"Yeah I will."

Sam stood up and headed towards the kitchen, pausing once to wave to Mary. He'd only offered to make dinner because he got the feeling that Dean wanted to spend some time with Mary and Pepper, and he wouldn't be able to do that if Pepper were in the kitchen.

Sam didn't know if Pepper had noticed, but Dean's eyes kept going from Mary to her and back again. Obviously, Dean was still very worried about Pepper; he just wasn't as open about it as he seemed to be with his worry for Mary.

A few minutes after Sam had gone; Pepper was still standing beside Mary, looking down at Dean. Concern in her eyes and an unasked question on her lips. A question Dean knew she wanted to ask and one he knew that she wouldn't. Dean tried to focus on their mainly on their daughter.

After a minute or two, Pepper slowly walked over to Dean and sat beside him. She placed a hand gently on his cheek and turned him to face her. Then she leaned in and kissed him softly. It was only a brief kiss and Pepper rested her forehead against Dean's when it ended.

"Come on." She said softly, not breaking their contact. "Lets go upstairs. We'll give Mary a proper play before dinner."

Dean nodded and watched as Pepper pulled away from him. She stood up and walked back over to Mary.

"Come on, Sweetheart." She said as she bent down and scooped her daughter off the floor.

"Mama!"

Pepper placed Mary on her left hip before turning back to Dean.

Dean gave her a small smile and stood up. He moved towards them and kissed Mary's temple softly. She giggled and bounced happily.

"Dada!"

Dean's smile grew slightly. He placed a hand on Pepper's lower back, guiding her towards the stairs.

"Hey, Pep..." Dean began when they were at the top of the stairs.

Pepper paused, looking over at him and waited for him to continue.

"Thanks." He said. "You know for..." He trailed off and let out a short breath. "Just thanks."

Pepper nodded but didn't say anything. Dean did not need her to say anything, he just needed her to know that he appreciated that she put up with him. Sometimes he didn't know how she could but he was grateful that she did.

* * *

'Maybe we should have gone grocery shopping today.' Sam thought as he looked in the fridge.

They had plenty of things in there that Mary could have. There was a six-pack of beer for himself, Dean, their dad and Bobby. A bottle of tropical juice for Pepper. There was less than half a loaf of bread, though Sam figured that it was probably stale by now since someone had not tightened the bag up properly. Sam then noticed a block of cheese, some eggs, and a carton of sour cream. He smiled as an idea came to mind.

He closed the fridge and walked over to the pantry. He checked to see what else he could find and grinned when he found potatoes, and a can of cream chicken soup. He closed the pantry back up and continued grinning.

There was one proper meal that he actually knew how to cook. It was one that Jessica had taught him when they were just starting to date. It was something she actually showed him to do on their sixth date.

He had planned to take her to a small Italian restaurant on the night but when he went to pick her up his car had broken down. He suggested calling a cab but Jess had come up with the idea of staying in and cooking. Sam had agreed which led to an enjoyable time in the kitchen as Jessica showed him how to cook a chicken potato bake.

He loved that memory because Jessica had laughed and enjoyed herself so much that night. He was glad that he could remember the good times now more than just her death. It had taken him a long time to get to this point and he mostly had Pepper to thank for that. Spending time with her had made him realize that it was unfair to Jess if he only wallowed in the sadness of her death. He needed to remember the love and fun they had shared. Which is exactly what he was going to do, and cooking this meal would be a nice tribute.

He double checked what they had and knew that there were still some things missing. The chicken being a big one. He grabbed a piece of paper lying on the table and quickly wrote down what else he needed. When he was done, he folded up the paper and placed it in the back pocket of his jeans.

"I should tell Dean I'm leaving" He said to himself before he moved to the door.

He knew that Dean would probably kill him if he took off without telling anyone. Well, at least he would today.

* * *

When Sam walked into the nursery Dean and Pepper were both sitting on the floor in the corner with Mary sitting between them. They were all laughing and smiling and Sam couldn't help but stop in the doorway and watch them. With all the fun they seemed to be having it was easy to forget that how worried Dean was.

Dean had one of the previously full shopping bags and was putting some of Mary's smaller toys inside of it all the while Mary stared at him wide-eyed with interest. Dean placed one last toy into the bag and then handed it over to Mary.

"Dada." She laughed and looked into the bag.

She smiled as she reached into the bag. One by one, she started taking the items out, showing each item to Pepper as she did. Pepper laughed and seemed almost as excited as Mary was, though clearly it was for Mary's sake. Dean took the bag back from Mary and waited as she looked at the toys for a moment. Then she grabbed one of the toys and held it out to Dean. A grin broke out across Dean's face and he placed the toy back into the bag.

Sam realized that this must be a game they'd been playing for a while.

"Fun game?" Sam asked as he walked over to them.

Pepper looked up at him and grinned replying "repetitive game."

Sam laughed, causing Mary to look up at him. She smiled at him and held one of the toys up towards him. Letting him know that she wanted him to play too. He grinned back at her and immediately sat down beside her. He had only come up to let Dean know that he was going out, but he could never deny Mary a game if she wanted it. Actually, Sam didn't think he could deny her anything.

Mary babbled and laughed, glad that her uncle was playing with her as well as her parents.

Dean started placing toys back into the bag.

"What happened to dinner?" He asked, handing the bag back to Mary.

"Well I thought it might be nice if I, ah, made an actual meal." Sam replied

"Oh that's nice Sammy." Pepper smiled. "What kind of meal?"

Sam smiled proudly at her. "It's a chicken potato bake."

Dean let out a short breath, "Since when do you know how to cook anything?"

"Um, well it's something that Jess taught me." Sam replied softly.

Dean paused, feeling guilty for having fun with something that was clearly special to his brother.

"That's a really sweet idea, Sammy." Pepper said, placing a hand on Sam's arm. "Do you need any help?"

Sam shook his head, "No, I should be alright. I just need to head out and grab a few things so I can make it properly."

At that, Dean's back tensed up and he looked back over at his brother.

"Do you really need to go out?" Dean asked. "Can't you improvise with what we already have?"

"Not really." Sam shrugged slightly. "We don't even have any chicken, which is one of the main ingredients."

Dean thought for a moment, and Sam wanted to argue that he wasn't really looking for approval but he kept his mouth shut. Even though he was a little annoyed with his brother, Sam knew that he had to let it go for now. And although Dean was being over protective of him, at least it wasn't as bad as how he was with Pepper and especially with Mary.

"Alright, 'spose you won't be gone for to long" Dean finally commented. "I mean, how long does it take to buy a chicken?"

"Right. Thanks." Sam smiled shortly. "You guys want me to pick up anything else?"

"No thanks." Pepper smiled as she brushed Mary's hair lightly.

Sam nodded and started to get to his feet.

"I gotta show you something first." Dean said suddenly, looking at Sam with a 'don't-even-bother-arguing' expression.

Sam nodded with a half shrug. "Sure."

Dean looked away from his brother after getting the response he wanted and turned to look at his baby girl. Mary was busy sticking her small hands into the shopping bag. Dean leaned forward; arms stretched and picked her up, bringing her towards him. She looked up and smiled at him. Not minding at all that he'd taken her away from her game.

"Hi, Mary." Dean said softly as he stood up with her in his arms.

"Dada." She sighed with a smile.

She reached one of her small hands up and patted Dean's chin. Eyes wide with surprise as they always were when she felt the texture of his stubble. Dean laughed softly, closed his eyes and kissed her forehead.

"You stay here and play with Mommy." He gently told her. "Daddy will be right back."

He kissed one of her eyelids, making her squeal and giggle. Then handed her over to Pepper before turning back to Sam.

"Come on Sammy."

Sam gave Pepper a short smile and a wave before he followed Dean out.

* * *

"What is you wanted to show me?" Sam asked.

He and Dean had made it to the bottom of the stairs and Dean had yet to tell him what was going on.

"All the, ah, things I've done today." Dean muttered, just loud enough for Sam to hear.

"What things?"

Dean shrugged, "A few devil's traps...salt barriers..."

"Oh yeah. Ok. Good." Sam said quickly.

"Let's go get Dad and Bobby first. I wanna show them as well."

* * *

Dean and Sam both walked into the study just in time to see their father and Bobby hang up their cell phones. Sam wondered if he should ask them if they needed any help with this Hunt. He had almost completely forgotten about it.

"Hey boys." John greeted his sons.

"Dad." Dean said shortly.

"How's it going?" asked Sam.

The older men both let out a long, tiring breath.

"Let's just say it's going to be a long night." Bobby finally replied.

Dean looked away for a moment. He felt a little guilty that he did not offer to help. Even guiltier that he did not want to. And for now, neither of them had asked for his help, which meant either they could handle it without him, or they knew that he wouldn't be much good at the moment.

"Ya think you could spare a few minutes?" Dean asked.

Bobby started to shake his head, "Not really Dean."

"Please." Dean suddenly sighed. "It's important."

John and Bobby shared a look. They could tell by Dean's tone that this was important and because of what today was they could guess that it would have something to do with Mary.

"Ok Dean." John nodded. "What is it?"

"Well I kind of did a few things to the house today." Dean admitted.

"Yeah, we know." Bobby said with a nod. "For Mary's sake. You don't have to explain."

"I'm not trying to explain." Dean said quickly. "I just wanted to show you exactly what I've done incase..." He trailed off. Not wanting to think of the outcome where they might need to know this stuff. "Incase you need it." He finished.

"Sounds good." Bobby agreed.

"Right." Dean sighed, glad that there wasn't more of an argument or that he didn't have to explain himself further. "There's, ah, actually a devil's trap under that desk."

Dean pointed to the desk and Bobby, John and Sam all looked down at the desk. John and Bobby were surprised that they hadn't noticed it before, though Dean had been careful and a bit of it was barely peaking out from under the desk.

It was impressive and John had to wonder how many more Dean had hidden around the place.

Dean took them to every room of the house. He had painted Devil's traps on the floors and ceilings. All the doorways and windows now had a fresh line of salt across them. Dean had also placed a number of other patterns around the place. They weren't devil's traps but they were meant to keep away things that were not demons. John was sure that a lot of them didn't actually work but he wasn't going to tell Dean that.

After Dean had finished showing them the entire house, Bobby and John returned to the study and Sam and Dean made their way to the living room.

"So, can I borrow the Impala?" Sam asked, before his brother started heading towards the stairs.

"Yeah, sure." Dean briefly replied. "Key's are on the table."

Sam nodded, turned around and walked over to the coffee table where Dean's keys were sitting. By the time he grabbed them and headed towards the door, Dean was already up the stairs on his way to the nursery.

* * *

It didn't take Sam long to get the food he needed. The only hic-cup was knowing what type of chicken to get. He couldn't remember if there was any special kind the recipe needed so he just grabbed the first one he saw.

Once he'd paid for his purchase, he got back into the Impala and turned the volume up on the new radio station he'd program in. He made a quick note to change it back before Dean could figure out that he had changed it.

The drive back was quite, and there were hardly any other cars out on the road. Sam didn't know if he should be concerned by this fact or if his brother's worry was beginning to make him paranoid. He shook his head and decided that there was nothing going on.

"I can't wait for this night to be over." He announced to the empty car.

It was at that moment that the radio suddenly crackled. Only for a moment and it probably would have gone un-noticed by someone who wasn't a hunter. Sam's eyes grew wide as he looked down at the radio, waiting for something else to happen, but it didn't. The song continued to play as if nothing had happened.

"What..." Sam began but then without warning everything got dark as he blacked out.

* * *

When Sam woke up, he could tell without opening his eyes that he was no longer in the Impala. Mostly because he seemed to be on his back, He finally opened his eyes and let out a short breath when he realized that he was in a hospital. He sat up and looked around the room he was in; just to make sure things were okay.

Well he didn't seem to be plugged into anything so that was a good sign. He looked down and noticed that his left wrist was bandaged. Then he realized that there was a dull pain there too, which meant that it wasn't that bad or that they had already given him something.

He reached up and ran a hand over his face making sure there were no cuts or bumps. As he was doing this, a nurse walked in. When she saw him sitting up she flashed him a smile.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake." She beamed at him.

"Yeah." Sam smiled weakly. "So could you tell me how long I've been here? Or how I got here?..."

"You don't remember?" The nurse asked.

Sam quickly shook his head.

"Well someone found you on the side of the road and called the ambulance." She informed him. "You fell asleep at the wheel apparently."

"I did?" Sam asked slowly. That didn't sound right.

"Yep. Lucky for you, you weren't badly injured. And you're lucky there was no one else out there."

"Um, yeah. I guess."

"Now," The nurse began as she picked up his chart. "As I said you weren't badly hurt. Just a sprained wrist and a bruise on your right side. Other than that, you are fine. We've just been waiting for you to wake up--"

"--How long have I been here?"

The nurse paused and looked up from the chart. "Not long. I'd say about twenty five minutes from when you were found."

Sam nodded slightly. While that told him how long he'd been in the hospital, it didn't tell him how long he had been on the side of the road. And he didn't believe that he had simply fallen asleep. That would not be something that he would do. Something else must have happened, he just didn't know what.

"As I was saying." The nurse began, bringing Sam out of his thoughts. "We were just waiting for you to wake up and now that you have we need the bed back."

"Oh."

"So if you wouldn't mind..."

"Right, yeah sorry." Sam apologized as he got off the bed. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to my car?"

The nurse shook her head. "Sorry. I was just told to come in and see if you had woken up yet. The clerk down the end of the hall will have all the information you're looking for."

"Well, um, thanks."

Just as Sam was about to open the door the nurse called out to him.

"Wait, hold up. I nearly forgot these."

Sam turned around just as the nurse was handing him a bottle of pills.

"For your wrist." She explained.

Sam gave her another short nod, placed the bottle in his pocket before he walked out.

* * *

Sam was glad that he was able to get more information out of the clerk then he was out of the nurse. Not that he blamed the nurse because he could tell that they were busy tonight.

He knew that the Impala had been taken to a nearby impound lot, and that it had hit a tree. According to the clerk though, there wasn't much damage. Sam guessed that he must have slowed down before he blacked out (he refused to believe that he fell asleep). From what the clerk had told him, he had scrapped the side of the Impala. In any case, he knew that Dean was going to be pissed at him.

Sam also found out that no one had called anyone to let him know that he was in the hospital. The clerk apologized several times for this. Sam may have been annoyed at that but he could tell the poor man was under a lot of stress so he didn't say anything.

After signing his discharge papers, Sam made his way to the front of the hospital where it was a little bit quieter. Then he pulled out his cell, wincing a little because he moved his wrist too quickly.

* * *

John and Bobby were still in the study with maps of areas that the demon had already attacked laid out before them. They tried to figure out if there was any way to find out where the Demon was going to strike next. John had already been through everything but getting a fresh pair of eyes wouldn't hurt, so he agreed when Bobby had suggested going over the maps again.

They had been staring at the maps for only two minutes when John's cell began to ring. He picked it up quickly encase it was another Hunter with information about the hunt. He was a little surprised and confused when he saw Sam's name on the screen. He knew that Sam had gone shopping, but he thought that he would be back by now.

"Sam, what's up? You ok son?" John asked.

"I'm fine, dad." Sam quickly replied. "I was just...I was in an accident."

"Accident." John frowned as Bobby looked up at him. "What kind of accident?"

"I'm not sure. One minute I was in the Impala and the next I was in the hospital."

"You mean you don't remember?"

"Not really. They think I fell asleep or fainted or something while I was driving."

John let out a short breath, "And you're okay?"

"Mostly. A couple of bruises and a sprained wrist, but other than that I'm ok."

"Where are you now?" John asked.

"Outside the hospital." Sam replied. "I might need someone to come and get me. I don't know if I'll be able to drive-"

"-We'll come and get you Sam. Just sit tight."

"Thanks, Dad. Oh and Dad," Sam added quickly before John could take the phone away from his ear. "Could you let Dean know that there's nothing to worry about. I don't wanna stress him out more."

John nodded and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Yeah I'll tell him."

"Thanks."

John sighed and ended the call. He looked over at Bobby and let out another long sigh.

"What happened?" Bobby asked.

"Sam's been in a small accident." John replied. "He says he's fine, we just need to go and get him."

"What kind of accident?" Bobby asked as they both stood up from the desk.

"According to the doctors he blacked out behind the wheel."

Bobby frowned. "That doesn't sound right."

"I know." John nodded, "That's why we're not gonna go empty handed."

"You think something could be up?"

"There's gotta be a reason why Sam would pass out at the wheel." John replied. "And with this demon out there I don't want to take any chances."

"Right. You gonna tell Dean what's happening?"

"I am, only because he'll worry more if he doesn't know what's going on."

Bobby nodded in agreement. They both knew that telling Dean there had been an accident would cause problems but that not telling him would cause problems as well.

"You go tell Dean and I'll grab some things and meet you outside." Bobby suggested.

* * *

As John heads towards the nursery, he can distinctly hear Dean's voice singing softly. John had to smile because it was always wonderful and yet weird to hear his oldest son sing his daughter to sleep with a Led Zeppelin song.

The song was still the only song that could put Mary to sleep. It didn't even have to be Dean singing it either. Any one singing or any version of the song would do it.

John had to stop just in the doorway of the nursery, not wanting to interrupt Dean and wake Mary; he waited for Dean to finish.

_"...gotta keep-a-searching for my baby. Gotta work my way round the world. I can't stop this feeling in my heart..."_

Dean had Mary lying in his arms as he walked around the nursery. She was curled in towards his chest with one hand resting against her neck. John could tell that she was almost asleep.

_"...I can't find my bluebird. I'd listen to my bluebird sing but I can't find my bluebird. A-keep-a ramblin baby..."_

Dean's voice trailed off as he sang the last bit. He knew she had finally fallen asleep. He smiled and held her closer. As he turned around, he paused slightly seeing his father in the doorway.

"Hey Dean." John whispered so as not to wake Mary.

Dean gave him a puzzling look and whispered, "Hey Dad. What's-"

"-Shh." John interrupted him. "Go put Mary to bed then I'll tell you what's going on."

Dean looked down at Mary and nodded. He made his way slowly past John and across the hall to his room, where of course Mary's crib now was. John remained in the nursery, allowing Dean to put Mary in bed in peace.

Dean walked over to the crib that he had placed beside his side of the bed. Gently he put Mary down. She shifted slightly but didn't wake. Dean covered her with a blanket and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"Sleep tight, Mary." He whispered before kissing her again.

Standing back up, Dean walked over to the bed and picked the baby monitors he had tossed in before when he'd been moving the crib in. After checking to make sure that both were on, he placed one in the upper corner of the crib near Mary's head, and held onto the other.

He stopped in the doorway and took a moment to watch Mary as her small chest rose and fell with her breathing. He was a little nervous about putting her to bed but he knew that he had to. If he stayed with her she might wake up and he didn't want to cause his daughter to become sleep deprived. He would be doing enough of that for everyone in the house.

Dean suddenly remembered that his father was waiting for him and finally opened the bedroom door to walk out. He let out a long sigh as he stepped into the light of the hallway.

John waited patiently for Dean to close his bedroom door before he spoke.

"She ok?" He asked, his tone still soft but not as soft as a minute ago.

Dean nodded and John noticed that he was clutching the baby monitor in his hand.

"What's going on, Dad?"

John grabbed his son's upper arm and stirred him in the direction of the stairs letting him know that he wanted to walk. Dean followed without question but still looked at his father with confusion.

"Now, Dean I don't want you to worry." John said quickly then continued before Dean could interrupt. "Your brother had a little accident while he was out. Nothing major but Bobby and I are just gonna check it out anyway."

By this point, they had made it half way down the stairs and Dean had stopped. He stared at his father with a mixture of panic, worry and a little annoyance. John didn't know if it were annoyance at Sam for getting into an accident or annoyance at him for not telling him sooner.

"And you don't want me to worry?" Dean hissed after the shock had passed. "What the hell, Dad? I've been going insane the last couple of days." Dean's voice began to rise slightly. "And when Sammy get's into an accident you tell me 'not to worry'?"

"We're dealing with it!" John snapped in a tone he hadn't used on Dean since before Mary had been born.

There hadn't been a need to be so strict with Dean before now, and it wasn't something that John had been waiting to do. When he had found out that Pepper had been pregnant, he wanted to stop acting like a drill sergeant when it came to his sons and start acting like a father. He wanted to act like a grandfather. But it was never going to be easy and there was always going to be a reason to take control of a situation.

This was one of those times.

"Just stay here and I'll call you if anything else happens."

"Fine." Dean nodded and turned around.

John stood on the stairs and watched as Dean headed back towards his room. No doubt going to watch the baby sleep.

John frowned. He knew for sure now that Dean was not handling this day very well. Dean didn't even ask about the Impala. On any other day, it would be the second thing on his mind.

* * *

Sam had moved to a small bench close to the hospital's main entrance and waited for his father to show up. Rain had begun to sprinkle down on him, which he found extremely weird because it hadn't looked like it was going to rain all day.

He sighed and checked his cell for the tenth time in five minutes to check the time. It wasn't so much that he was impatient to get picked up...well he was but he was also wanted to get home to help Dean out. He felt bad for letting this happen and wanted to do something to make the rest of the night go smoothly for Dean.

Sam still had no idea how he blacked out. He didn't remember feeling dizzy or odd.

"Sam!" Bobby yelled out.

Sam turned in the direction of Bobby's voice and saw Bobby and his father coming towards him. He quickly got to his feet and began walking towards them.

"Hey guys." Sam tried to offer a reassuring smile.

"You okay there Sam?" Bobby asked, eyeing the younger man to asset the damage.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam replied. "I'm just embarrassed."

"Do you have any idea how this happened?" John asked.

"Not that I can think of. I don't remember much about before the accident." Sam replied. "All I know is that I was on my way back from the shops."

"So you didn't notice anything strange?"

Sam shook his head. "Sorry."

Bobby and John shared a quick side ways look with each other.

"Did you tell Dean?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." John replied.

"I guess we better get back." Sam began. "We getting the Impala now or--"

"--Just a minute Sam." Bobby interrupted him.

"Why?"

Bobby sighed and reached behind him, pulling a flask out of his back pocket. Sam eyed him curiously.

"What's that Bobby?"

"You know what it is, Sam." said John

Sam looked at the flask. "Its holy water." He nodded. He looked back up at Bobby then turned to his father. "You want me to drink it?"

"You said yourself, you have no idea how you blacked out or what happened." John explained.

"And we're not taking any chances." Bobby agreed.

"...Not tonight..." John added softly.

Sam nodded, knowing that it was for the best. He held his hand out for the flask and Bobby handed it to him. Both John and Bobby watched as Sam unscrewed the lid, ready to act if he reacted badly to the flasks contents. Sam took a few long mouthfuls of the water.

Bobby and John each relaxed when Sam had no reaction.

"Well guess that's one theory out of the way." Sam laughed lightly but without humor.

"Now we just to figure out what did happen." Bobby said, as he took the flask back from Sam. "You didn't blackout for no reason."

"Let's just get back and we'll figure this out at home." said John.

"Good idea." Bobby agreed with a short nod.

"What about the Impala?" Sam asked.

"It's not on our list of priorities right now." Bobby explained. "We'll get it in the morning. Now let's get back to the truck."

"Okay."

Bobby and John turned around and started walking back the way they came.

Sam was ready to follow them, but just before he moved, he smiled slowly and his eyes turned black...

**TBC**

**Next Chapter - The Plan**


	4. The Plan

**Author's Note -** _A new chapter 'hooray!' lol. Please vote in my poll to let me know that type of stuff you'd like to see more of in this series. You can vote for three things. At last look the top three options in the poll were(in order)..._  
_**1 -** _Dean & Pepper_ (I'm surprised by this. I thought Dean & Mary would have beaten it)_  
_**2 -** _Dean & Mary  
_**3 -** _Story lines twisted from the show  
_Don't agree? Rather see more of something else? Well go and vote!_

_Enjoy this chapter everyone! :-)_

_p.s. does anyone know why it wont let me underline the chapter title? It's very weird. Everytime I highlight it and hit the 'U' button it works but when I hit 'save' the underline disapears when the page loads up again. Its not important just strange and I guess a little annoying. _

**CHAPTER FOUR - THE PLAN**

Bobby drove back a little faster than what the speed limit would permit. Now that they were sure Sam was ok, both he and John wanted to get back to their hunt. Although there was not much else they could do, seeing as how nearly every thing they thought of resulted in a dead-end.

Sam could tell that his father and Bobby were in deep thought and knew there was nothing he could do about it, so he kept quiet and looked out the window.

"When we get back we should work out a plan of some sort." John admitted, but he was mostly thinking aloud.

"That won't help when were flying blind." Bobby sighed.

"We'll have to think of something. This Demon could be anywhere."

At that, Sam started to smile ever so slightly. If either Bobby or John had looked over, they would have see Sam's eyes turn black in his reflection in the window.

* * *

Sam realized that he must have dozed off because the last thing he remembered they had been driving alone a road and now they were pulling up in front of the house. He sat up and stretched, rolling his shoulders before he looked over at his father and Bobby.

Neither Bobby nor John said anything as they got out of the truck. Both of them were too pre-occupied with what was on their minds.

As they walked into the house, they could hear Pepper moving about in the living room. As they got closer, they could see that she was tidying up the small area around the sofa. At first, she didn't notice them.

"Pepper." Bobby sighed to let her know that they were back.

She stopped what she was doing and turned to face them. She gasped slightly when she saw Sam's bandaged wrist.

"Oh Sammy," She sighed as she walked over to him. "Are you ok?"

Sam tried to offer a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a bit embarrassed that's all."

"Ok. Well go sit down and I'll make you some tea."

"No, really that's okay-" Sam began to protest.

"-Sammy, you were in an accident." said Pepper. "Just go and sit down."

Sam paused for a moment and then nodded before moving to the sofa. Pepper smiled at him once he was seated, before turning and heading to the kitchen.

"Pepper, is Dean still upstairs?" John asked, though he already knew the answer.

She looks back over at him and nodded. "Yes. He should be in our bedroom."

Then Pepper continued to the kitchen.

John looked down at Sam for a moment before asking, "You sure you're ok?"

"Oh, um yeah. I'm good." Sam replied

Again, John nodded and then went upstairs. He wanted to let Dean know that they were back and that things were fine.

Bobby however headed back to the study. Now that they were back and they knew that Sam was fine, he wanted to get back to the hunt.

* * *

Dean was lying on his side on his bed, his head propped up on his elbow. Mary was beside him with her head slightly tilted towards him. Her chest rose and fell with her breathing. She had woken up some short minutes ago and had been fussing. It had taken Dean a while to get her back to sleep and afterwards he had decided to simply let her sleep on the bed for a while.

Keeping his eyes on her, he reached out with one hand and stroked her curls.

The bedroom door was opened slightly, letting John look into the room for a moment without disturbing the scene before him. Mary looked peaceful and while Dean seemed calm, John knew that his mind was still racing.

Eventually, John knocked softly on the door to let Dean know that he was there.

Dean looked up slightly startled and gave his father a questioning look.

"We're back." John said softly. "Sam's fine."

Dean looks back down at Mary and nods without saying a word.

It was strange that Dean hadn't asked for more details about neither Sam nor the Impala. John looked back down at Mary, who had turned slightly in her sleep. In this quiet moment, John could admit to himself that he had been a little worried about Sam. However, seeing his beautiful granddaughter always made his feel better.

"Sam's downstairs if you want to talk to him."

With that, John turned back towards the door. Just as he got to the threshold however, Dean's voice stopped him.

"And you're sure everything's fine?" Dean asked

John looked at him for a moment before he realized what he was really asking.

With a nod, John replied, "Bobby and I made sure that things were okay."

"Okay. Um, thanks Dad."

"Don't worry Dean."

After that, John left and Dean turned his attention back to his baby daughter.

* * *

Back downstairs, Sam is still sitting on the sofa, this time with a mug in hand filled with the tea that Pepper had made for him. John left them and went to join Bobby in the study.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Pepper asked Sam as she sat down beside him.

Sam could not help but smile. This was the seventh time she had asked him that and while it was annoying it was also nice to know that she worried about him.

"Yeah. I'm sure." He smiled at her. "My wrist hurts a bit but it's not too bad."

"I'm worrying too much aren't I?" She asked

"Kind of, but it's ok. It's actually a little nice. Besides it's probably just you being a mother hen or something."

Pepper laughed and shook her head. "Probably. And I am glad that you're okay."

Sam smiled and drank from his mug.

"Sorry about dinner though." He said after a moment.

"Oh, that really doesn't matter." Pepper assured him quickly. As an after thought she added, "I'm sure I'll be able to whip up something."

She patted his knee once before she got to her feet.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, no. You just stay and rest." She smiled

"I really am okay now." Sam smiled back.

Turning back to him, Pepper smiled softly and touched his cheek.

"I know." She said and then leaned in to kiss his forehead.

Sam sighed and drank more tea as he watched her walk to the kitchen.

* * *

"Da-Dada." Mary whimpered as came out of sleep.

Dean sat up and leaned over her.

"Shh baby." He said softly, rubbing her right shoulder gently. "It's okay."

Mary opened her eyes and blinked before focusing on her father.

"Dada." She said again.

"Come on Sweetheart." He picked her up and she immediately cuddled up close to his chest. "Let's get you something to drink."

He kissed the side of her nose, just under her left eye before he stood up and carried her to the bedroom door.

* * *

Mary was certainly happier by the time Dean got to the living room.

"Da" Mary gurgled happily.

Dean grinned and bounced her on his hip, holding her a little tighter. He took a quick look around the living room, hoping to see Sam but he wasn't there. Not having the time to find out where he might be Dean headed for the kitchen.

* * *

Pepper was dishing some spaghetti into five bowls when Dean walked into the kitchen.

"Dada. Mama." Mary announced, pointing to her mother.

"Yeah that's Mom."

Pepper turned to them and smiled. "Hey."

Dean nodded and bounced Mary slightly.

"Did she sleep ok?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, well I'll get her bottle so you can sit and eat-"

"-I'm not hungry Pepper."

"Dean..." Pepper sighed, stopping him before he could step towards the fridge. "You should eat something."

"No, I'm fine really."

Pepper gave him a soft concerned look and he knew that she was not buying it. He probably looked tired, and he knew that there was no point arguing with her.

"Alright." He sighed and handed Mary over.

Pepper took her daughter and held her close. She looked over at Dean for a moment. "Thank you"

Dean shrugged and sat down in the closes chair, dragging one of the bowls towards him. Pepper opened up the cutlery draw and grabbed a fork. She handed it to Dean then went to the fridge to get Mary's bottle.

Just as Pepper placed the bottle into the microwave, Sam walked into the kitchen.

"Hey." Sam said when he saw Dean.

"You okay?" Dean asked, looking his brother over.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Well I've had worse."

Dean simply nodded because boy, was that true.

Sam turned his attention to Mary, who was busy mumbling something into Pepper's neck.

"Well she looks happy." Sam said with a smile.

Mary stopped and turned in the direction of Sam's voice. She looked at him for a couple of seconds then all of a sudden, she started to whimper and buried her face into the side of Pepper's neck.

"Oh, hey." Pepper cooed, holding Mary tighter. "What's wrong baby? It's okay."

Dean was already out of his chair.

"Mama." Mary cried.

When Dean was standing directly beside Pepper, he reached out and carefully took Mary into his own arms.

"What is it, Mary?" Dean asked with a frown.

"Dada." She whimpered, squirming in his arms.

Dean held her closely and began walking around the room. There had to be a reason for this sudden change in her mood but he had no idea what it could be. He just knew that he didn't like it. She seemed almost afraid of something.

Sam frowned deeply as he watched Dean with Mary. He had never seen Mary act like that before.

"Um, is she ok?" Sam asked, concerned.

The microwave beeped and Pepper took the bottle out, while still looking back at Dean. After checking the temperature on her wrist, she handed the bottle over to Dean, who was still trying to calm Mary down.

"Sammy, could you ah...take some food out to Granddad and John?" Pepper asked as she stroked Mary's hair.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Sure."

Still frowning, and with his eyes still on his niece, Sam picked up two of the bowls from the table and turned to leave.

"Dada." Mary sighed clinging to her father.

"Sweetheart." Dean murmured, kissing her head. "You're alright. What's the matter?"

Mary looked up at her father and then saw the bottle in his hand. She reached out for the bottle as if nothing had happened. Dean and Pepper looked at each other with matching expressions of confusion and concern.

* * *

Sam walked into the study carrying a bowl of spaghetti in each hand. He cleared his throat when he entered letting John and Bobby know that he was there.

"Ah, Pepper made dinner." He announced, before placing the bowls down on the desk.

"Thanks Sam, but I'm not all that hungry." said John

"Me either." added Bobby.

"Well neither am I." Sam began. "But I think Pepper really wants us all to eat something. Since I got home she's been a little worried."

Bobby looked down at the meal, then turned to John and sighed. This had turned into a very long and hard day for all of them. And there was no doubt that by the end of it they would all be emotionally drained. Especially Dean and Pepper.

Not wanting to give Pepper anything else to be concerned about, both Bobby and John picked up their bowls and forks Sam and brought.

"So, have you had any luck?" Sam asked after a silent minute.

"We've been getting calls from other hunters." Bobby explained. "But nothing's really helped so far."

"We just keep going 'round in circles." said John.

Sam nodded and tried very hard to suppress a yawn.

"I think I might lay down..." Sam said.

John turned to him and nodded shortly. "That's fine, Sam."

Sam smiled briefly and then left the two older men to their work.

* * *

Almost 20 minutes after Sam had departed; Bobby's phone began to ring. He answered it quickly.

"Karl...?"

"Bobby, you wanted me to call if I heard anything-" Karl quickly replied.

"-Yeah, yeah. What d'ya got?" Bobby asked over him.

"I don't have much but a source of mine recons there's some big demon hoedown going down in Hemingford."

"Hoedown?" Bobby sighed, shaking his head. "What the hell do you mean?"

"Right, well this source of mine - and don't worry cause he's legit, I trust him - anyway they were in this bar and over heard 'couple of demons talking-"

"-Demons?" Bobby interrupted.

"Well this guys not exactly a Hunter, but he runs in the circles of us who are." Karl explained.

"Fine, whatever. Karl, just get to the Demons." Bobby rushed out. Sick of the small talk.

"The Demons were talking about how some other Demon had shown up to kill these women."

"Women? Did you get anything else?"

"Sorry." Karl sighed, and Bobby knew that he was genuine. "I've been trying to find out more but I'm not having any luck. You were always better at gathering information that I was."

"Yeah. Look, ah, thanks for the call."

"No problem. Let me know if I can be of any more help."

Bobby hung up his phone and turned to John, who had been staring at him and waiting for more information to what he had heard as a one sided conversation.

"We may have a lead."

"You don't sound so sure."

"Well there's not much to go on," Bobby sighed in response. "All we know is that a Demon is gonna go after some women in Hemingford. I mean it could be related or it could be completely bogus."

John shrugged and shook his head, "It's the best we've got. We haven't heard back from anyone else."

Bobby nodded in agreement.

"So did you get any more information?"

"Only that these women seem to be a target. And if it is related then these women would have to be Hunters."

"Yeah."

"Can you think of any Hunters that we know in that area?" Bobby asked, as he was having a hard time thinking of any himself.

"Not that I can think..." Suddenly John trailed off as he got a bad feeling deep within his gut. After a short pause, he looked Bobby square in the eye. "Ellen and Jo could be there."

John watched as Bobby's expression matched his own.

"Are you sure?"

"We know they've been traveling." John replied. "And they're the only female Hunters that work together."

"I'll see if I can reach Ellen." Bobby said as he grabbed his phone again.

"I'll try Jo."

* * *

"I'm still not getting an answer from Ellen or Jo." Bobby rushed out as beside him, John tossed another shotgun into a duffle bag.

They had been getting their gear together since their first try at calling Ellen and Jo returned no answers. They didn't exactly have a plan other than head out with as much fire power as possible and look for Ellen and Jo. As soon as they had all that they needed, they were out the door.

"You tell the boys what's happening?" Bobby asked

John opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Dean who was now standing in the doorway.

"Tell us what?" Dean asked with his arms folded across his chest.

Both John and Bobby turned to him. They had no idea whether or not they should tell him what was going on.

"Well?" Dean demanded.

Bobby sighed and replied quickly, "We think Jo and Ellen could be in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Bad." came John's simple response.

Dean was of course worried after hearing this, but a small part of him wanted to know why this had to happen tonight of all nights. First Sam's accident and now Ellen and Jo could be in danger. Of course he was annoyed but it was more of an annoyance at himself for letting himself think such things. He was already on edge tonight and because of this reason he was even more afraid for Jo and Ellen.

"...As far as we know four Hunters have already been killed." John was saying.

Dean shook himself out of his thoughts when he realized that his father was explaining the situation to him. While he did not hear the first part, he could figure out what was going on with the words 'Hunters already killed'. All he needed to know was in that sentence.

It was obvious that Bobby and John were just as worried and anxious as he was.

"We'll have to get going soon." John explained.

He and Bobby picked up a bag each, swung them over their shoulders and walked towards the door.

"You're going on your own?" Dean asked, as he stepped aside to let them through.

"We don't have a choice." John replied. "Your brothers not really up to it and you..."

Dean cast his eyes down for a moment. "You think I should go?" He asked.

"No." Bobby and John said together.

Normally of course they would expect him to come but they knew that tonight his mind wasn't in the best of places.

"We didn't think you would want to come even if we asked." said Bobby.

"I don't, but..." Dean sighed and lifted his head up. "It's Ellen and it's Jo."

Dean wanted nothing more than to stay there in the safety of their house with his little girl. He wanted to keep her close to him and make sure that she was going to make it through the night unharmed. Ellen and Jo were like family though. Could he really stay when he knew that they were in danger and that he could help?

"I hate to rush you Dean." Bobby said suddenly. "But you need to make a choice now."

"Bobby, I..."

John suddenly placed a gently hand on his son's shoulder. He knew this night was hard on him and he could see the inner turmoil behind his eyes.

"Son, go and have a word to Pepper. Tell her what's going on."

"What?" Dean asked, confused and shocked.

"Just go. We'll wait for you outside." John explained. "We'll give you ten minutes."

Dean slowly nodded, not exactly sure what his father was on about, but he left to go find Pepper anyway.

Bobby was staring at John after Dean and left.

"What are you playing at Winchester?" Bobby demanded.

"There's no way Dean's going to be able to make his mind up on this one. The only person who's going to be able to help him is Pepper. She's the only one who can help him make sense of the guilt he's gonna feel whether he stays or comes with us."

Bobby could only nod because he knew that John was right. There was no denying that his granddaughter had a certain way with the young Winchester. He just hoped that she was able to help him quickly.

* * *

Dean ran up the stairs and made it to the top just in time to see Pepper walking out of their bedroom. Seeing as how she didn't have Mary with her, he had to assume that she was in her crib. She barely had time to shut the door before Dean was in front of her. He grabbed her by the upper arms to keep her from moving.

"Dean?" She asked startled. "What is it? What's wrong?

Dean loosened his grip, slid his hands down her arms, and said, "Dad and Bobby think a Demon could be after Jo and Ellen."

"Oh my God." Pepper gasped, her eyes going wide. "Are they, I mean are they sure?"

Dean let his hands drop and shook his head.

"I don't know. But they seem pretty certain."

He could see the worry spread through her eyes. Of course she was worried; Ellen had been almost like a mother to her when she was younger.

"They're gonna leave now but with Sam's wrist and..." Dean began quickly but trailed off just as quickly.

"So they're gonna go alone."

"I don't doubt that they'll be able to deal with this." Dean explained.

He knew that the two older Hunters could handle almost anything that came that way. After all, they had both been in the business for a long time, but even the best of hunters could run into trouble in a blink of an eye and this Demon was already racking up a list of casualties.

"But?"

"But what if they run into trouble and they need some back-up?"

"Then you should go-"

"-I can't." He blurted out suddenly. "I don't want too."

Dean felt defeated and Pepper knew exactly why.

"Dean," She sighed.

"I mean I do want to go but half of me wants to stay."

Pepper placed a gentle hand on his cheek as she took in a shaky breath. She really wished she could take all of his pain away.

Dean closed his eyes briefly and for a moment, he could pretend that none of this was happening. When he re-opened his eyes and looked into Pepper's his eyes screamed 'Help me' because he couldn't find the words.

"You should go." She told him softly.

"Pep..."

"Look, Dean I know why you want to stay, but Mary and I will be fine with Sammy. I promise. You need to go help Ellen and Jo."

"But-"

"-Dean you know that if you stay and something happens you'll never forgive yourself. Sammy and I can look after every thing here."

Dean let out a breath and nodded. She was right of course. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything happened on the hunt but worse than that, he didn't think that she would be able to forgive him. And what about Mary? What would she think when she got older and started asking about her aunt Ellen?

Sam had been asleep in his room when he heard the sounds of Dean and Pepper talking. He couldn't hear what they were saying and for all he knew it could have been a private conversation, but he was getting hungry again, so he got out of bed and walked out.

"Hi guys..." Sam paused and looked at his brother and then Pepper. He knew straight away that something was not right. "What's going on?"

Pepper ignored Sam and continued looking at Pepper.

"You need to go Dean." She told him. "I know that you're feeling guilty right now and I know that you're going to regret what ever decision that you make, but at least if you go you wont feel helpless."

With that, Pepper stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Dean, hugging him. He embraced her back and pulled her to him tightly, almost afraid to let go. Pepper pulled back and kissed him gently and Dean knew that his choice had been made.

He let go of her and gave her one last look before turning towards Sam, who was looking very confused. Dean decided against seeing Mary one more time before he left. He knew that if he looked at her he would melt and then he would never leave.

Walking right over to his younger brother, Dean said, "You better protect them."

"With my life." Came Sam's quick, no thinking required response. Even though he still had no idea what was happening.

Dean nodded. "You remember everything I showed you this afternoon?"

"You mean around the house?" Sam asked.

Again, Dean nodded.

"Yeah, I remember."

Then Dean turned and ran back down the stairs, hoping to catch the others before they left. He didn't even have time to look back. Maybe if he had he would have noticed Sam's eyes.

A small smile passed over Sam's face as once again his eyes turned black.

"Oh yes." Sam murmured. "I remember it all..."

**TBC**

**Next Chapter - Black Eyes**


	5. IMPORTANT NOTE

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Hey everyone,**

**I'm sorry to get your hopes up but this is not an update on the story. The sad news is that I will not be continuing my stories here. Because of a certain thing that has happened I no longer have any respect for this site. So what I am going to do is post my stories on my LiveJournal accounts (links are on my profile page.) My account here will remain until I have transferred each story to LiveJournal. After that I will be deleting this account and will no longer be posting here.**

**I am sorry for the inconvenience this causes anyone. If you have any comments, or you want to know more please email me at - shadedcolouredlights(at)y7mail(dot)com**

**This is sad for me but I can't help how I feel. It will probably take me a long time to post all my stories on LJ because I rarely go on the computer any more. I just wanted to let you all know what was going on.**

**Thank you everyone who has favored/alerted me or my stories. Your reviews have always meant a lot to me. I hope that some of you will continue to read my storie on LJ. If you know any other place I can post my stories please let me know.**

**ICantBelieveImNotButter.**


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